Settling in...

      This is the moment I have been waiting for and fantasizing about for months! The old family house is sold, we're fully moved into Western Maine, and the hikers are off the trail! Yes, finally settled! The only problem is, I just don't feel settled yet at all!

     Gypsy and Fern completed their 2,200 mile hike-- I cannot believe they walked from Georgia to Maine. Out of 2,500 that attempt the Appalachian Trail each year, only 20% of hikers complete it-- and only 20% of those are women. I could not be more proud. The season ends on October 15th, when Mount Katahdin closes for the year-- so the kids noticed a lot of people were skipping sections of New Hampshire to get to Maine on time. So frankly, you have to wonder how many of the 20% who finish really did the whole thing. My team documented every step of the way on YouTube-- again, I could not be more proud. 

     If you watched along, you may have expected this:

    

     By my daughter's expression, you can guess that she said, "Yes!" We're all very excited and now have a wedding to plan-- one that will be on top of a mountain, no doubt!

     We rented this wonderful cabin across a lake from Mount Katahdin to celebrate the accomplishment.

     This is my first Air BnB rental-- I'd definitely do it again! There were eight of us in all, and we were able to just be together with no distractions.

     Back "home"-- I put that in quotes because it is only just beginning to feel that way-- we have made a lot of progress fitting furniture in and unpacking boxes-- you can actually set foot in the garage now. Unfortunately, it does not seem that my Sewtopia space will be sheetrocked before winter, so I went ahead and just set up my big sewing table amidst the stud walls, and I'm also going to just set up the longarm, and I will just be patient with the current state of affairs. Mr. SFO did get us a TV up there! I'll post a picture of my humble space soon. I think it's good to do with a little less at times-- do you think so?

     I may make a schedule for myself to help focus and get things done and I did promise myself that I would allow my hour of hand stitching in the morning and and hour of quilting at night. The embroidery mojo is still MIA-- I think I just need to schedule time and just sit down and do it at this point. Is "Stitch it and the mojo will come" a saying?

  My Autumn Love cross stitch is coming along nicely! This is a relaxing one to do-- it's less like confetti and more regimented, I guess I'd call it. I let my mind wander and didn't stay glued to a chart, which was probably a mistake since I stitched the top gray border upside down, and I'm pretty sure my vase is the wrong blue. I'm leaving all of it-- mistakes are something I need to embrace at this point in life! I was also feeling bad about not stitching the whole piece-- I'm just making the bottom strip for now-- so I'm kind of glad it happened, because I feel more committed now to just making it mine!

     

    Here is my little needle minder I treated myself to-- I never had one before and I just love it! It's a super strong magnet that let me attach it to my project bag. My scissors need minding more than my needle, and I haven't lost them once now.

     

      Usually I would lose them on the couch, and Mr. SFO would end up sitting on them. So I showed him my new needle minder and how strong it is... he seemed less excited than he should have been! I think a little needle minder collection may be in my future, when I see ones I really like-- Fat Quarter Shop, who I'm stitching along with, has quite a few.

     At night, I have resumed A Ribbon Runs Through It-- I'm on the second set of sashings. I have never done sashing to this degree of piecing before-- usually my sashings were just one piece! These have twenty pieces each and I think there are 64 of them! It's been a battle to work through the steps to make them, and it does feel like I'm forcing myself to do it. As a matter of fact, it kind of feels that way with everything I am doing these days! Haha!

     I am usually filled with joie de vivre, so again, this spring and summer have just been a lot for my little heart, and I will just patiently await the return of joy. :-)

    On the business side, I am also just going to force myself to sit down and restart. I picked an easy task-- one that I've been wanting to do for a long time, and that is take the My Christmas Album designs and convert them to redwork. I'm doing this because I want them bigger, and faster to stitch, and also because I love them so much!

Two are done.

I found this fabulous free pattern from Moda for a Christmas quilt-- it was designed by Susan Ache, who has written and contributed to quilt a few books. I always love her work. She designed her own embroidery designs for this quilt, so, of course, it's tailor made for the job! Look, there's a space for all twelve!

Finishing up the Birthday Mug Rug series is also at the top of my mind, and a good project to work on right now. November is almost ready to be stitched-- that will be my first stitch out in Sugar Meadow-- that's what I'm calling my new home!

Here's our driveway-- yes, we are in the boonies!  In the future, I'll be sharing with you the wonderful people I have already discovered-- Donna, the mailperson, Dee from UPS, and Eldon, a Korean War vet who sells honey and maple syrup just down the road. Everyone is just so nice here. Thanks for sharing this new chapter with me!

xoxo

Carol